Mountain Province sees ‘positive momentum’ in battered diamond market

Botswana's economy is expected to expand by 4.5 percent this year.

Johan Dippenaar has held the top position since 2005, when Petra merged with Crown Diamonds.

According to Lucapa, policy shifts in the southern African country allow management to plan for the sale of such high-value stones, something the company was not able to do before.

In just five years, Anglo assembled marketing operations that now sell more metals than the company produces.

The world’s top diamond producer by value has led industry efforts to both verify the authenticity of diamonds and ensure they are not from conflict zones where gems may be used to finance violence.

The move makes the company the first mining major to request exploration permits in the country since President João Lourenço vowed to open up the sector and encourage foreign investment.

The C$107 million-acquisition ($82m) gives the miner access to the Chidliak diamond project in Canada, which hosts at least 74 kimberlites, eight of which are potentially economic.

Since their discovery in early 2009, the ruby deposits near Montepuez in Mozambique have produced an impressive number of exceptional-quality stones.

Sales for the seventh cycle stood at a provisional $505 million, down $134 million or 21% from what De Beers got at the same cycle in 2016, when it began releasing this kind of data.